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SUPREME COURT DEEMS ARIZONA CAMPAIGN LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL: The Supreme Court on Monday voted down a portion of Arizona’s campaign finance system that made more public financing available to candidates when their privately funded opponents outspent them.

The court voted on the case, McComish v. Bennett, 5-4.

The intended purpose of the law was to allow candidates with modest fund-raising abilities from being out-spent by opponents. Any candidate who accepted public financing would receive more funding, called “trigger funds,” in one of two cases: if the candidate’s opponent denied public financing and raised private upwards of a certain amount, or, if outside groups spent upward of a certain amount of money on attack ads against the candidate.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, stating the law limited free speech of outside groups and candidates who accepted private funding, because it matched that funding with government money.

In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan argued the law increased more free speech, because it allowed everyone – no matter their ability to fund-raise competitively on their own — to run for political office.

“The system discriminated against no ideas and prevented no speech,” Kagan wrote, according to the New York Times.

Democracy 21, an organization that pushes for greater campaign finance regulations, called the Supreme Court’s vote a “seriously misguided decision.”

“Trigger funds” provisions like those in the Arizona law do not restrict the speech of any candidate or group and are a sensible feature of a public financing system,” the group said in a statement.

Democracy 21 joined the Campaign Legal Center in supporting the Arizona law.

But also in the statement, Democracy 21 noted the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the public financing system in general. The Campaign Finance Institute released a statement with similar sentiments, saying it is important that the Court still upheld the public financing laws.

The Center for Competitive Politics supported the Supreme Court’s ruling, calling it a victory for the First Amendment.

“The Supreme Court got it right today — it is not the state’s business to favor some candidates by giving them additional money when they risk being criticized or outspent,” said Allison Hayward, the CCP’s vice president for policy, in a statement.

Roberts referenced the case that set up public financing, Buckley v. Valeo, in his opinion, saying public financing is an important part of the political process and reduces corruption.

This is yet another major campaign finance ruling federal courts have made since the Supreme Court’s 5-4 vote in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission in January 2010. This vote split along the same lines, with Justices Samual A. Alito Jr., Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia and Anthony M. Kennedy voting the law unconstitutional. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen G. Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsberg joined Kagan in the dissent.

HUNTSMAN FUND-RAISING GOALS MODEST COMPARED TO OPPONENTS: Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and his presidential campaign are looking to raise $200,000 by this Thursday, the day filings are due for the year’s second quarter.

The Huntsman campaign sent an appeal via email to supporters Monday morning, asking for small online donations of “$50, $25 or even $10″ to get the campaign jumpstarted in early primary states and “continue to build a momentum for the Governor’s national campaign.”

And while $200,000 in four days may seem like a lot, in the world of presidential fundraising, it’s rather modest.

President Barack Obama’s fund-raising goal, in comparison, is $60 million by Thursday, albeit for the full quarter.

On Saturday, the Obama Victory Fund sent an email to supporters saying the campaign seeks 450,000 individual supporters by Thursday, and hopes to raise $60 million by the second quarter filing date, ABC News reported.

Both campaigns are seeking grassroots support on two very different scales. Granted, Obama’s been at the fund-raising game a bit longer. Huntsman still lacks significant name recognition, and he’s is in the very early stages of establishing himself on a national level.

Former Massachusetts Gov.Mitt Romney, the current GOP frontrunner and a prolific fund-raiser, has his sights set slightly lower than Obama – setting a goal of $50 million by June 30. He raised more than $10 million in one day during a fundraiser in Las Vegas in May.

Books for the second quarter close June 30. Data on fund-raising for the second quarter will be available on the OpenSecrets.org in mid-July, after the information becomes public on July 15.

BLAGOJEVICH CONVICTED ON 17 CHARGES: A jury on Monday convicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on 17 out of 20 counts of various misdeeds.

Among the most notable charges against Blagojevich: His attempt to sell Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate after Obama was elected president and resigned his Senate office. The jury did not reach a verdict on three charges, including one accusing Blagojevich of extorting now-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Blagojevich was impeached in early 2009, following allegations that he sought bribes and other deals when deciding who to appoint as Barack Obama’s successor in the U.S. Senate. This was Blagojevich’s second trial, as the jury deadlocked on the majority of charges during the first trial.

Before his impeachment, Blagojevich had appointed Roland Burris to Obama’s vacated seat.. Burris, who also found himself caught up in the corruption scandal, did not seek another term in the special election for the seat in 2010.

During the 2010 election, Republican Mark Kirk won the seat. Kirk had served in the House of Representatives since 2000.

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